Keitaro Urashima
Keitarō Urashima is a cram school student desperately trying to get into Tokyo University because of a childhood promise he had made even though he cannot remember the name or face of the girl with whom he made the promise to. Appearance Self-described as plain-looking and un-cute, Keitaro Urashima is an uninteresting guy and a failure as a second-year Ronin. From the beginning of the manga, Keitaro was in the 48th percentile, bad at English, Math, Social Studies, History, Biology and Sports. However, his reliance and dedication to his dreams and the memory of a promise drives him to continue pursuing the near-impossible task of entering Tokyo University; one of, if not the, most prestigious university in Japan. Honest and hard-working, Keitaro’s empathy towards other people and their problems, coupled with a desire and compulsion to help, sometimes causes him to become involved in things he shouldn’t be or become entangled in elaborate adventures that cause him to digress from his studies. A notable trait shared between Noriyasu Seta and Keitaro is their nigh indestructibility; able to survive large amounts of damage that lesser people would possibly be killed by. Naru mentioned he was cute without his glass. Plot Manga Kicked out of his home for his continued persistence to get into Tokyo University and promising that he would not return until he entered Tokyo U, Keitaro makes his way to the Hinata Apartments to stay, however he soon discovers that it has become an all-girls dormitory. Mistaken for a Tokyo University student Keitaro is allowed to stay despite mistrust from the girls, particularly from Naru Narusegawa, who was also studying for Tokyo University. While it is eventually discovered that he was not a student of the university, Keitaro receives a fax from Grandma Hina Urashima and becomes the landlord of Hinata House. While studying for the entrance exams and attending to landlord duties, Keitaro manages to gain Naru as a study accomplice and tutor. While accidentally peeping in her diary, Keitaro begins to suspect that Naru was his promise girl. While failing his mock entrance exam and experiencing a bad luck prediction during the New Year’s festival, Keitaro’s relationship with the residents of Hinata House, and Naru in particular, began to improve; with Keitaro receiving his first Valentine’s Day chocolates from the girls. However, in spite of this, when Keitaro learned that the promise that he had read in Naru’s diary was not to him but to her old tutor on the eve of the entrance exams, his distraction was such that he ended up failing the exam. Deciding to take a trip of healing through southern Japan, Keitaro ends up repeatedly running into Naru, who had also failed the exam and was following the same travel route as Keitaro. Opting to travel together, they run into Mutsumi Otohime while on a cruise to Kagoshima. Discovering that she, also, was on a trip of healing after having failed her Tokyo University entrance exam and concerned over her anemia, the pair include her in their travel group to see her home to Okinawa. During the trip Keitaro and Mutsumi exhibit uncanny similarities and discover many similar interests, so much so that Naru begins getting jealous over their compatibility. Following their return to Hinata House, Keitaro begins looking for a job to restock his savings after the trip, however in the process he learns more about Naru’s promise and crush with her tutor. Eventually getting a job as an item mover for Noriyasu Seta, Keitaro becomes his assistant after demonstrating his ability to babysit Seta’s charge, Sarah McDougal, however, when it is discovered that Seta was actually her tutor and the two are reacquainted, Keitaro helps Naru make her feelings known to Seta puts his feelings for her aside. Attempting to avoid her, even when the Hinata residents are employed by Haruka to work at the Hinata Seaside Teahouse, the pair’s relationship becomes strained after a misunderstanding caused by Haitani and Shirai’s meddling however after Keitaro makes a stand against Seta during a play rendition of Journey to the West and Naru and Keitaro become stranded on an island thanks to Sarah’s antics their relationship begins to heal to the point that Naru and Keitaro go on a date through Hinata. When Mutsumi arrives at Hinata to attend the coming Tokyo University Entrance Exams Keitaro becomes turn between which girl to pursue, and matters are complicated more when Naru discovers that Mutsumi might be the promise girl Keitaro had pursuing these past years. Similar to how Keitaro performed when Seta arrived, Naru begins encouraging Keitaro and Mutsumi’s relationship in spite of Keitaro being undecided on who to choose. While managing to pass his coming exams even while becoming freaked out and getting asked out on a date by Mutsumi, Keitaro’s confidence soars after it is cleared that Mutsumi’s promise was made not to Keitaro but to Naru; clearing her of being Keitaro’s promise girl. However he daydreams during the entrance exam and becomes convinced that, as he had rushed to complete it before the time ran out, he had failed the exam again. Not wishing to confront his friends and bare their disappointment he boards a boat heading overseas, however he falls overboard mid-voyage and ends up stranded on a tropical island called Pararakelse. Meeting Seta on the island, Keitaro volunteers to work as a hired hand in his excavations of the island. Chasing after him, Naru joins Keitaro in the excavations; ending up getting lost in the island’s desert in search of the Turtle Civilization. When the rest of the Hinata residents also pursue after them after learning that they had both passed their Tokyo University entrance exams Keitaro manages to send his entry ticket to the university on time to finally become a Tokyo U student. On the first day of attending the university, Keitaro suffers a broken leg when a roof ornament falls on him. Forced to take a leave of absence he admits his love to Naru while in hospital. Following his return to the apartments he attempts to receive a response from Naru only to have her avoiding the subject in spite of Mitsune’s well-meaning meddling. When Motoko’s sister makes a proposition that Motoko either best her in combat or marry Keitaro; whom Motoko had lied about being her fiancé, and healing and witnessing Seta and Haruka’s own ponderous relationship, Naru finally reveals her conflicted feelings to Keitaro. While traveling to Okinawa with Mutsumi to visit her family, Keitaro and Naru end up having to look after her when she loses her memory and regresses to her childhood, reliving the circumstances surrounding his childhood promise. Returning back to Hinata, Keitaro learns that he would have to wait until the following year to study at Tokyo University due to having had to skip classes due to his injury. Choosing instead to study abroad for the intervening year he follows Seta to America, working under him on various excavations. Returning the following year in time to disrupt a coup being staged by the Hinata residents against his sister, Kanako Urashima, Keitaro attempts to start where he and Naru left off in their relationship, he also attempts to mend the perceived antagonism between his sister and Naru. When he accidentally proposes to Kanako instead of Naru while inside the Forbidden Annex, he and Naru attempt to break the spell binding himself and Kanako, when Naru loses hope and runs, he chases after Naru through northern Japan before finally giving her the engagement and breaking the spell’s hold. While now openly in a relationship with Naru, Keitaro still becomes caught in love triangle involving first Naru and Kanako, and then Motoko as well. When he was drafted by Seta to help him in returning an artifact to the Kingdom of Molmol, the Hinata residents all pursue after them for varying reasons, resulting in a competition over who would have him between the girls. However, in the end they all bow out to let Naru and Keitaro be together. Following the return to Hinata House where Grandma Hina gives Keitaro the entitlement of ownership of the apartments, it is revealed that Naru was indeed the Promise Girl he had made his original promise to and the pair get married three years later. Anime Character Design Originally Keitaro’s surname was Akaishizawa and was originally intended to attempt to kick out the tenants of the inn and sell it off due to its age. At this stage he also owned a motorcycle and was a bit of an arrogant bigmouth. In another design he had a Realite score of 80, but always got so nervous on the tests that he failed them anyways. In the Love Hina Character Popularity Poll, Keitaro came in 5th with 154 votes out of 2506. Concept Gallery Parakelese_Keitaro_Art.png|Pararakelse artwork of Keitaro Preparatory School Trio.png|The Preparatory School Trio consisting of Keitaro, Haitani and Shirai Preparatory School Trio Kotatsu.png|The Preparatory School Trio under a Kotatsu Table Preparatory School Trio 2.png|Keitaro, Haitani and Shirai's Original Sketches Keitaro Original Faces.png|The Original Keitaro Keitaro Concept 2.png|Early Concept Art of Keitaro showing several faces Keitaro and Naru Concept.png|Early Concept Art of Keitaro and Naru LHAKeitaroconcept.jpg|Love Hina Again concept art Gallery File:BountyKeitaro.jpg File:KeitaroMutsumi.jpg File:ShiraiHaitani3.jpg File:Keitaro 1.jpg File:Keitaro 2.gif File:KeitaroNaruPhoto.jpg File:KeitaroMeditate.jpg File:naru_keitaro02.jpg File:KeitaroNaru2.jpg File:KeitaroNaruMutsumi1.jpg File:KeitaroNaruMutsumi2.jpg File:ChristmasTrio.jpg File:KeitaroKanako.jpg File:YoungKeitaro1.jpg File:NaruKeitaro.jpg File:lh9-115.jpg no title 2.jpg|Keitaro Urashima 26 years old Other Appearances Ground Defense Force! Mao-chan *Keitaro makes a cameo in Mao-chan! manga series as Keinosuke Urashima; an university exam student who has failed the university exam for Tokyo University four times. After getting lost, Misora encounters him in the woods around Mount Fuji just as he is about to commit suicide for the fourteenth time (having failed the previous thirteen attempts). Misora cheers him up and has him lead her out of the woods. After they leave the woods Keinosuke's phone starts working again and receives 40 e-mail messages from the people who love him. He next appears alongside his wife, Nana Nanasegawa, helping to run the Hinata Ryokan. Due to it being known as the number one hotspring in Japan, the ryokan came under a crisis when the Onsen King, secretly Emperor Galactica, attempted to steal the hot spring water for himself as part of the aliens' plans to steal all of Japan's landmarks. As the Defense Corps also booked a stay at the ryokan on the same day, the two parties ended up fighting over possession of the hotsprings through a game of Table Tennis. File:MaoKeitaro1.jpg File:MaoKeitaro2.jpg File:MaoMotoko1.jpg File:Nana1.jpg Trivia *Keitaro is 171cm tall and weighs 63kg. *Kaolla thinks that a series of fictional books about Taro Urashima are about Keitaro and has become a fan of the series because of this. *It is likely that Keitaro Urashima's name was chosen as a reference to Tarou Urashima a character in a novel who saves another character named Otohime who is a "turtle princess" in the novel. *While shown to sketch cartoons in his diary, Keitaro exhibits more of an artist talent in the anime, even going as far as finding employment in Studio Akamatsu, than he does in the manga. *By the final epilogue chapter, Keitaro has been recorded as besting Motoko Aoyama in 16 out of 43 duels. *Due to never having a girlfriend, and in an effort to save himself from embarrassment, Keitaro used to make his own Valentine’s Day chocolates and pretended that they were from a valentine. Over the years he has become quite adept at making chocolates. *Keitaro is said to bare an uncanny resemblance to his great grandfather, Keisuke Urashima. *In addition to his nigh-indestructibility, Keitaro does not grow facial hair. Category:Characters